Track instrument for railway-signals.



PATENTED JULY 21, 1908.

' J. F. DINBEN. v TRACK INSTRUMENT FOR RAILWAY SIGNALS. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1906.

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No. 893,612. PATENTED JULY 21, 1908. J. F; DINEEN. TRACK INSTRUMENT FOR RAILWAY SIGNALS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8. 1906.

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J. F. DINEEN. TRACK INSTRUMENT FOR RAILWAY SIGNALS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8. 1906.

PATENTED JULY 21, 1908.

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JOHN FRANCIS DINEEN, OF GEELONG, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.

TRACK INSTRUMENT FOR RAILWAY-SIGNALS.

I No. 893,612.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1908.

Application filed August 8, 1906. Serial No. 329,693.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN FRANCIS DINEEN, citizen of the Commonwealth of Australia, residing at Latrobe Terrace, Geelong, in the State of Victoria, Australia, gentleman, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Improved Track Instruments for Railway-Signals, of which the following is a specification.

The treadle contacts at present in use on railways for completing an electric circuit on the passage of a train over them, are cumbrous and expensive contrivances, and en tail the expenditure of a considerable amount r of time and labor in fitting them in position and otherwise making them operative. Theyalso require constant attention and adjustment in order to keep them in proper work ing order.

cable for the permanent way men to pack under a sleeper anywhere near the device without putting it out of gear.

This invention has been devised for the purpose of providing a simple and inexpensive contrivance which will effect the desired object, which can readily be fitted into position without loss of time and without requiring much skilled labor for the purpose, and above all that will not be liable to disarrangement or breakage.

My improved rail operated electric circuit closing device is mounted upon a suitable support between which and the rail there is a certain amount of clearance, which allows the rail on being depressed to operate certain contact levers hereinafter described and which also allows the rail to spring up and release said levers immediately "the load is removed. In case of the passage of a heavier weight than this space or clearance provides for, the support is driven down into, or through, the ballast, and when such heavy load has passed over, the support is lifted bodily by the rail into position ready for a so that there will be the original clearance between it and the In this way the circuit closing device can, under specially severe conditions, move bodily with the rail without affecting its capacity for being operated by the slightest deflection of the rail.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, I will describe it by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the appliance.

Sometimes it is not even practi-' Fig. 2 is a plan of same. Fig. 3 is a plan showing a certain frictional joint between the contact levers, hereinafter described. Fig. 4

is a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing a modified arrangement of the invention, while Fig. 6 is a plan thereof. Fig. 7 is a side view showing another modification of the invention. ig. 8 is a plan of the arts shown in Fig. 5, and Fig. 9 shows another modification of the invention. Figs. 3 and 4 are drawn to a larger scale than the other figures.

In carrying the invention into practice, I may employ two plates or arms of metal A,

connected together frictionally upon a sleeve B, through which passes a pin or bolt O mounted in a bracket D or other support. One of these plates or arms (A is much longer than the other. The short arm A (which is arranged as a pair) is fashioned with a recess a (see Figs. 1 and 4) at the end so as to engage with, and be moved up and down by, the rail flange. This action of the short arm also moves the long arm through the frictional pressure connection between them, such pressure being controlled by spiral springs E on the sleeve B. Two stops F, F, control the distance which the long arm can travel, and between these stops circuit is made by the end of the long arm A coming in contact with a pair of electric terminal springs G, G or otherwise closing the electric circuit. For this purpose the end of the said long arm A may be provided with an insulated bridge piece c The stopsF and P may be adjustably mounted on the threaded pin M. The terminal springs G, G, are carried by a block N of insulating material supported by the bracket D or otherwise at one end, while their free ends rest upon the lower stop P, which is also of insulating material.

The stops F, P, are placed far enough apart to allow the long arm to travel from the back or lower stop P to the front or upper stop F on the passage of the lightest vehicle or weight for which the invention is set to operate. .Heavier weights cause greater depression, and under these circumstances the long arm A after passing to the front stop F remains there while the short arm goes down with the heavy weight. The friction joint between the long and short arms or members of the lever admits of this mot on. By this construction the first part of. the upward movement of the rail (J) breaks the circuit by returning the long arm A to the back stop P before the rail returns to its ordinary level. The long arm remains there until the upward movement of the rail and short arm is completed, when it is ready to againeomplete the circuit for the lightest vehicle or front stop F and back to this space is the time of closed circuit.

The bracket or other support D above referred to is mounted upon a block of wood or other material K sunk into the ballast or ground under the rail, but low enough to allow the ordinary depression to take place without touching or altering its position. Under heavier pressure this block is driven into the ground, but on the return of the rail to its usual elevation, the block is lifted again to its former place by two stout straps, clips, or other devices L, L arranged to engage the flange of the rail. There isa clearance 0 left between the rail and the lever support, and the straps L, L are so fixed that the free play of the rail is maintained, and the block is not moved unless more depression than ordinary is caused by heavier weights passing over. A pipe T may be provided for containing the line wires leading from the apparatus to the signal box or elsewhere.

The ballast or permanent way is packed tightly around the post K, so as to insure the frictional resistance between the ballast or permanent way and the post being sufficient to operate the arm A This frictional resistance, however, will not prevent the post and the apparatus carried with it, from being depressed on the passage of an extra heavy weight over the rail, neither will it interfere with the upward spring of the rail again raising the post and the apparatus carried by it to their normal positions.

In'the modification illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 the lever A together with its friction joint and other appurtenances is mounted upon or between two projecting arms K which are pivotally supported upon a post or pillar ,K the track. The pivotal connection R between the arms K and the post K is preferably fitted with adjusting nuts or other contrivances to enable the frictional resistance between the arms and the post to be adjusted at will, while allowing said arms to move up and down upon said pivot. The outer ends of the arms K are formed with projections L L adapted to engage the flange of the rail. Sufficient space is left between these projections to provide a clearance 0 between the flange and the lower projection L when the rail is in its raised position. This driven into the ground alongside.

clearance is, as in the above-described arrangement, sufficient to enable the rail to be depressed with ordinary weights sufficiently lower projection Ll, thereby depressing the arms or supports K and carrying with them the lever A and other operative parts of the contact making device. On the rail return ing to its normal position, it first operates the lever A so as to move it out of contact, there by causing it to break the electric circuit, and then it contacts with the upper projection L and raises the arms or supports K into their normal positions.

To insure sufficient frictional resistance to the downward movement of the arms K downwardly projecting bars K are formed upon the outer ends of the bars or supports K and project down through and are packed tightly in the ballast or permanent way. These downwardly projecting bars may be in the form of quadrants, as shown, and be passed through guides or bearings, K upon the side of the post or support K such I guides or bearings being adjustably pressed against said bars so that the resistance to their movement can be adjusted, if desired. To further increase the amount of frictional resistance upon the downward movement of the arms K the ballast or permanent way may be packed tightly around the downwardly projecting bars K In the modifications shown in'Figs. 7 and 8, the lever A is made solid or in one piece, the friction oint being dispensed with. It is mounted upon an axis 0 having bearings in the brackets D These brackets carry the spring contact plates G, G which rest on the stop P as before; the stop F shown in Figs. 1 and 3 is however dispensed with. As a train passes over the rail of the permanent way it depresses the short arm of the lever A and raises the long arm to make contact with the plates G, G The mechanism may be mounted on the flange of a reversed rail Q or other suitable block or support set in the bal last or ground.

If preferred, the supporting block K may be fitted (as shown in Fig. 9) to work frictionally in a case R sufficiently tightly to carry the contact making mechanism, but not so tightly as to be ca able of resisting the pressure of the rail w weights. The case must be a fixture. A modification of this kind may be useful on viaducts, bridges, and other laces where there is not sufficient depth of allast to allow the supporting block to project into it.

I claim 1. In a track instrument for railway signals, operated by the depression of the rail on railways or tramways, a contact making en under heavy lever having separate arms set in frictional contact with each other, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a track instrument for railway signals, a lever having separate arms set in frictional contact on a spindle, the short arm being arranged to engage with the rail of the permanent way, and the long arm being arranged to make and break an electric circuit, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. In a track instrument for railway signals, a spindle mounted in bearing brackets a sleeve mounted on the spindle, separate lever arms carried by the sleeve, springs on the sleeve bearing against the lever arms, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In a track instrument for railway s gnals, spring contact plates secured at one end to brackets in combination with a p voted lever actuated by the rail so as to make and break contact with the spring plates, adjustable stops being used to limit the movement of said lever, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In a track instrument for railway signals, the combination of a support working frictionally; a contact-making lever mounted on said support; a-rail for operating said lever, said rail being normally free from en gagement with said support; and means mounted on said support above said rail for engaging said rail upon the latters return to its normal position after having been depressed therefrom under an extraordinarily heavy load.

6. In a track instrument for railway signals, the combination of a contact-making lever; a rail with which said lever is engaged and by the depression of which said lever is actuated; and a suitable support for said lever, said support projecting beneath said rail and being separated therefrom by a substantial interval which permits said rail to be depressed normally without engaging said support and said support being engaged and depressed by said rai under extraordinarily heavy loads.

7. In a track instrument for railway signals, the combination of a support working frictionally; means for'varying the friction acting upon said support; a contact-making lever mounted on said support;.and a rail for operating said lever, said rail being normally free from engagement with said support.

8. In a track instrument for railway signals, the combination of a case; a support working frictionally in said case; a contact making lever mounted on said support; and a rail for operating said lever, said rail being normally free from engagement with said support.

9. In a track instrument for railway signals, the combination of a contact-making lever; a rail with which said lever is engage and by the depression of which said lever is actuated and a suitable support for said lever, said support projecting above and below the flange of said rail and being separated from said flange by a substantial interval which permits said rail to play under normal loads without engaging said support and to engage said support under extraordinarily heavy loads and upon being relieved therefrom.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN FRANCIS DINEEN.

Witnesses:

PERCY HEDGEs, OLEM HACK. 

